Royal Absence
by Stella Stargaze
Summary: How could they not know about each other? How could they forget? In this time when they needed each other most, how could they not know about the other's existence so close to them? And what (or who) would be the one to unit them? (SATAM/Sonic Underground)
1. Royal Absence

**And here's chapter one and Chapter two should be up now too! I didn't realize how refreshing it would be to start writing these characters again. Granted this is a completely different universe than Ground X but eh. It's still fun and I hope you guys have fun with it too!**

 **Please R &R so I know how I'm doing here. Enjoy the story!**

He sat in his room, staring up at his ceiling with something clutched tightly in his fist. His eyes focused on nothing in particular as his mind wandered anywhere and everywhere it could. Though he wished it wouldn't. He wasn't known for thinking. He didn't like thinking. But sometimes there was no avoiding it.

And of course he just had to think about _that_. Well, that was what he thought about most of the time anyway. He wasn't sure if hated it or not. It definitely wasn't pleasant but he didn't want to forget about it either.

"Hey, you okay?"

He silently gave thanks for the distraction as he was snapped out of his trance. Sitting up, he gave his visitor a large grin, "Yeah, just bored I guess."

"Then you can come help me out here," she suggested, "We could use all the help we can get."

"No prob. I'll meet you out there in a sec."

"K."

As soon as she had left his smile dropped and he moved his clenched hand from behind his back. He was lucky she hadn't noticed.

Slowly he unwrapped his fingers from around the object resting in his palm, reveling a shining guitar medallion.

* * *

Sonia typed silently in the darkness of her room. The sounds of the keys echoed quietly against her walls as the time ticked by. She yawned, stretching her arms above her head. The pink hedgehog stared at the screen, her eyes going in and out of focus.

She slowly started sliding out of her chair, but barely noticed. The only thing that kept her from hitting the floor was a pair of arms catching her right before impact. She had fallen asleep instantly as her brother sat down with her.

Manic looked up at the computer his sister had just been working on. A long series of strange symbols ran down one side of the screen with various notes parallel to them. Why was she so intent on deciphering that old book? Sure they had gotten it from the Oracle who had told them to translate the old thing, but that wasn't worth losing so much sleep. She'd barely gotten any in the past week. What had gotten her so set on this task?

She mumbled in her sleep, curling up closer to her brother's warmth. The green hedgehog sighed and rested his chin on her head. He may be the youngest, but he was the only brother around now.

They had no idea where the eldest of the three was. He had just vanished one day. No note. No nothing. At first they had thought he was just on an extended run or that he had gotten lost, but as the weeks continued on, they realized that it wasn't so simple. They could never figure out what happened to him. They tried not to think that he might have been taken or, worse, just run away. The two refused to consider the latter. Sonic just wasn't that kind of guy.

It'd been a little over a year now. They sorely missed their blue bro, even if he could be especially annoying sometimes. But they managed. They continued on with their Freedom Fighter duties and took over the ones left behind by Sonic. Of course his disappearance had affected HQ too. The entire based seemed quieter and much less cheery as the days stretched on. Anyone who had known the speedster personally had been especially affected. But eventually things had gone back to some sort of normality.

He was taken out of his thoughts as his sister once again stirred. The drummer smiled as he moved passed out hedgehog to her bed as carefully as possible. He looked at the small clock in the corner of the monitor as he passed. 5 AM. He would have to call Cyrus and tell him that they couldn't come in tomorrow or else the workaholic would pass out.

Right before he could leave to head back to his own room, he noticed a certain picture taking up a majority of the book's side of the screen. A stone, broken in half, with the halves being held together by two figures. A brown one and a blue one. Parallel to the picture, his sister had written in all caps: SONIC?!

* * *

"Sonic!"

The blue hedgehog spun around toward the voice, "What's up Sal?"

"We need your help over in the lab. Mind coming over?" she yelled from a couple houses down.

"No problemo. On my way," he was next to her within the next second, "Hi."

The princess's eyes turned toward the sky before taking the dork's hand, "Come on. We're having trouble with Bunny's new upgrades. We need someone try and keep her parts from going crazy while we work on them."

"Cool. I can keep her from goin through the roof," Sonic joked, referring to the last time they had upgraded the rabbit's mechanical legs.

"Oh she'll be going through more than the roof this time."

"Wha-"

Smirking at the hedgehog's reaction, she opened the door to Rotor's lab. "You'll see."

The hut was littered with abandoned parts and tools like always. Bunny sat on one of the tables, swinging her legs right above the ground. She smiled and waved as the two came in. Rotor was sitting at his computer, his back turned away from the door, running through calculation after calculation. He raised a hand as he heard the two enter, but didn't stop his typing.

"Hey there Sonny boy."

Sonic smiled as he turned toward his robotized uncle, "Hey Unc. How's it goin?"

"Excellent. We're almost ready to head to Robotropolis."

"Just gotta finish up this and it's all set," Rotor explained as he moved away from the monitor, "We're going to need all the power we can get to fix up Robotropolis."

"Definitely," Sonic agreed, "We don't even know what to expect down there. Who knows what sort of failsafe or what else Robotnik set up."

"True. Robotnik is a crafty one," Chuck admitted, putting a hand on each of the two's shoulders, "But now that you've defeated him, we'll be able to erase any trace that he might have left behind."

"Totally," the blue hedgehog grinned ear to ear. 'And I'll be able to meet up with some old friends.'

"Hey Rot, when ya gon a get all that set up? Ah'm gettin all sore sittin here for so long." Bunny asked from her seat, stretching up toward the roof with her ears pointing up as she did so.

"Don't worry Bunny I'm all done. Just have to start. Ready Sonic?"

"Let's do it to it."


	2. News

**Here's chapter 2! I should mention that this is going to be Sonally since that** ** _is_** **the cannon in the show. So if you don't like Sonally... *shrug***

 **Enjoy! :3**

Sonia slowly blinked her eyes open, her mind still groggy. The blankets shifted as she moved to sit up. When did she get into bed?

"There you are sleepy head," she looked up to her brother who was standing in her doorway. He walked in as she pushed her covers completely off of her with a yawn. "You want some food?"

"Sure. What's for breakfast?"

"Uh, it's lunch time Sis."

"What?" she jumped out of her bed to look at her clock. 11:45. She'd been asleep that long?! "Oh my gosh! Cyrus! We are so late!"

"Chill Sonia," Manic tried to calm her, "I called him first thing this morning and explained. He said to come over anytime."

"Why'd you let me sleep so late?" she demanded, drumming her fingers against her thigh.

"You needed it," he told her, his tone carrying a touch of sternness. "You've been up for nights translating that book. You literally passed out last night."

"I did?" she looked down thoughtfully, trying to remember last night's events. She didn't come up with anything though. "Sorry. It's just that-"

"That thing with Sonic?" Manic asked, "I saw it on the computer last night." He told her when he saw the surprised expression on her face. "You think it's really him?"

"I don't know. It sure looks like him." Sonia sat down in front of her computer, "What I'm really wondering about is the other person next to him."

"Well, do you know what that passage is talking about?" he asked, leaning against the back of her chair.

"It's something about some Deep Power Stones. I haven't been able to translate much of it yet though. I've got that it's some sort of royal secret."

"Royal secret?"

"Yes… but-"

"But?"

Sonia huffed at his impatience. It was like he was turning into Sonic. "But it says nothing about the Hedgehog lineage."

"So you're saying that it's some other royal family?"

She sighed leaning back into the chair, "I don't know. I'm still deciphering it," she rubbed her temples, "Why did the Oracle have to give _us_ this job?"

"Well I say it's time for a break. Hungry?"

Her growling stomach was enough of an answer.

* * *

Sonic laid down on the floor panting. He refused to look at any of the present. "You could have told me you were putting _jets_ in her legs!" he yelled.

Sally and Rotor just laughed. "I was the one actually havin them installed Sugar-hog," Bunny informed him from the air.

"Yeah but now you can fly," he countered, "I'm just really tired now."

"Come on Sonic," Sally pulled him up by the arm.

The hedgehog allowed the princess to bring him upright and linked his fingers with her, "Alright alright, I'm up. So now that we got this all done when do we head out for Robotropolis?"

"First thing tomorrow," Sally told him, "We'll probably just do some scouting. We don't know how much has changed after all."

"Cool." Sally thought she saw something flash in Sonic's eyes but as quickly as it had come it had gone. She considered asking him about it but decided against it. He tended to keep these things to himself to her annoyance.

"You all should rest up," Uncle Chuck told them, "You've got a big day tomorrow."

"No prob Unc. I'm always ready for action," He bragged with a huge smile.

Sally just gave an amused sigh and pulled him out of the hut. The two walked through Knothole in silence, waving to the mobians they passed. The air around the village seemed so much brighter since Robotnik had been defeated. It had been so crazy that night. Everyone had been celebrating well into the night. Some people had just passed out in the field. Antoine somehow ended up in a tree. (They hadn't bothered asking how that happened). It was kinda hard to believe. They'd been fighting since they were kids. And now it was all over.

The two stopped in front of the lake of rings, sitting down on the log next to the water. Sally laid her head on Sonic's shoulder, watching the water ripple and move. It was so peaceful here.

Sonic put his head on top of her's in return, "Ya know, I used to be terrified of water."

"Oh really?"

"Mm hm," Sonic closed his eyes, "Still not the most comfortable around it actually."

"Did Uncle Chuck know this?"

"Yeah. Pretty sure he put the power rings here to try and help me get over it."

Sonic felt Sally silently chuckle from beneath his chin, "It seems to have worked."

"More or less yeah," he admitted.

He stayed silent for a while. When the princess looked up at him his eyes seemed far away.

"Alright," she pushed away from him, taking the hedgehog out of his trance, "What's up?"

"Huh?"

"Something's bothering you," she stated, "What is it?"

He didn't give her an answer right away. Sally could clearly see the conflict written on his face. Eventually he sighed, "It's nothin' Sal."

"Uh huh." she wasn't buying it.

He could tell, "Trust me Sal. It's not a big thing." He was definitely lying.

She sighed at his stubbornness and stood up. Sonic was worried that he had upset her until she leaned down and kissed his cheek, "If you say so. I'm going to my hut. I'll see you later."

He smiled as she walked away. All of their friends had been delighted as soon as he had kissed the princess upon their triumphant return. (Except Ant but he didn't really say anything about it so…). They had all said it was about time and all that. Now that Sonic looked back, he kinda had to agree with them. Now that Robotnik was gone, maybe they'd be able to focus on their relationship a bit more.

Speaking of that…

He bolted off at top speed, wind blowing behind him. The trails caught whoever happen to be in his path they all instantly knew who it was. Sonic the Hedgehog. Fastest thing alive. Only if they knew the whole story.

The speedster stopped in front of his hut and calmly entered. He dug into one of the drawers of his desk until he pulled out a small device. Placing it down on the desk, he pushed a small button on the front and smiled.

"Hey there sibs. Have I got some news for you."


	3. Books and Barriers

**I have spent most of the school day writing this. Yay for almost summer! And I've got archery nationals the next few days so I should be able to write even more. Hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter out soon. Sort of depends on the hotel's wifi.**

"Hey Sis!"

Sonia looked over to see Manic's head popping out from the door of the planning room of HQ with a huge grin on his face. "Yeah?"

"Cyrus found some info on the stones from the book!"

"Really?" she was next to him so fast he wondered if she had suddenly gained Sonic's speed.

"Yeah. Come on."

He led her into the room where Cyrus was staring up at a computer screen. He looked up as he heard the two approaching, "There you guys are. You won't believe what I found."

"Well tell us anyway," Sonia leaned on the back on the lion's chair, eager to hear the news.

"Right," he started typing on his keyboard until a picture of two stones appeared on the monitor, "These are the deep power stones. According to what I was able to hunt down, they're special artifacts that create either limitless energy or great destruction," there was a small gasp at the destruction part but he continued, "It's when they're put together that the power is unleashed." He typed some more and the two stones moved so that the smooth ends fit together, "This releases the limitless power, and this," they turned so that the jagged sides came together, "Is the great destruction."

"Where did you find all this?" Sonia asked.

"That's the worrying thing," he bit his lip, "All this was in Robotniks data banks."

"Robotnik?" they both exclaimed.

"Mm hm," he suddenly had a very thoughtful look on his face which worried the hedgehogs, "It also said something about another kingdom."

"I saw that in the book," Sonia told him, "It said it was some special royal secret."

"Speaking of that book actually," Cyrus turned around again, "I looked up some on the other things that are in the book that you had translated, and I think I know what it is."

"Seriously?"

"Yep. All of what you gave me where descriptions of ancient magical artifacts and even the locations of them."

"So?"

"So, there's a book called the Maho-"

"Weird name." Manic interjected.

Sonia hit the green hedgehog as Cyrus continued, "-that lists all powerful artifacts and where they are. Most people just think it's a myth."

"Why would there be a picture of Sonic in it though?" Manic asked, his sister silently asking the same thing.

"The book is magic too. It keeps up with the locations in real time. Which means,"

"Sonic has the Deep Power Stones!"

Cyrus smiled, "Exactly."

"That means if I can translate the part about where they are-"

"We can find Sonic!"

The two highfived and ran out. Before they got to the door Sonia stopped, ran back, and gave Cyrus a huge hug, "Thanks Cy!" and she was gone.

The lion just smiled at the two and then continued his work.

* * *

Sonic tapped his foot impatiently as he stared at the still water. How long had he been waiting? Thirty minutes? An hour?

"Sonic it's been 2 minutes," Rotor informed him.

The speedster sighed in annoyance but said nothing. Tails sat next to him, looking up at the blue hedgehog, "What are you gonna do in Robotropolis Sonic?"

"Not much, big guy. Just checkin out any changes."

"Like what?"

Sonic thought for a moment, "Like whether the swat bots have shut down or the factories stop working."

"What about the robotized people?"

Sonic didn't answer immediately. He squatted down to the small fox's height and ruffled his bangs, "Don't know buddy. We'll find out though and bring 'em back to normal."

Tails smiled at him. He was about to say something when the lake started to glow and waves started battling against the shore. The kitsune jumped up in excitement, spinning his tails and flying to where a ring flew out of the water with a brilliant glow. He quickly handed to Sonic who stuffed it into his bag to stop the blinding light.

"We're all set. We'll see you guys soon." With that he ran off, a large gust of wind shortly following.

"Bye Sonic!" Tails called after him.

"Good luck!" Rotor added.

Sonic screeched to a stop at the exit of Knothole, "Ready to do it to it, Sal!"

"Good. We're ready too," the princess tightened a strap that held on a strange machine to Dulcy's back.

"What's that?"

"It a machine to measure the amount of pollution in the air. If it's too polluted we won't be able to stay for too long while we rebuilding. We've been fine since we haven't stayed for a long period of time. Just for missions."

"Cool," Sonic looked up at the machine, "It's not too heavy for you, is it Dulce?"

"Not at all," the dragon told him, "Though it does take up a lot room on my back."

"I'll have to go with you on ground."

"No problemo Sal," he scooped up the squirrel, who gave a small, surprised yelp as she left the ground, "We'll meet you there." He told the other two before jetting off.

"Can't let 'em get too ahead of us, right sugar-dragon?"

"Right!"

Dulcy spread her wings and took off into the air after the hedgehog and princess.

Sally tightened her grip around Sonic's neck as he sped up. The wind whipped her hair around and tugged at her fur, but she was used to it. She actually kinda enjoyed when she was with Sonic while he was running. Though she could do without the wind making her eyes water.

"There it is," Sonic said, taking her out of her thoughts.

She looked forward at the metallic city in front of them. It looked the same as before, but she knew that a great evil had been purged from the place. But they still had a long way to go before his influence was completely gone from the land.

She glanced up at her ride and felt a small tug of worry in her chest when she saw the faraway look in his eyes. Could Robotnik's defeat have had some weird effect on him?

She readjusted herself in his arms; moving closer to him. She could tell he noticed. She felt his head move down to look at her as she gazed forward.

She obviously couldn't know what he was thinking. She couldn't know about his two siblings or the Freedom Fighters hiding among the dark streets of Robotropilis. Of course she didn't know because he couldn't tell her.

A loud thump and "Oof!" from behind them stopped them in their tracks. The two looked back just in time to see Ducly's hard impact with the ground. Bunny hovered above her with a confused and worried expression.

"What going on?" Sally asked as they arrived on the scene.

"Ah don't know sugar," Bunny shrugged.

"Wait you can fly. Why did you ride Dulcy?" Sonic a questioned as he looked up to the hovering rabbit.

"Limited energy. I woulda run out by the time I got here sugar-hog."

"Dulcy are you okay?" Sally bent down to the dragon as she slowly got up.

"I'm fine Sally," she started rubbing a spot on her snout, "I ran into some sort of barrier."

"Barrier?"

Bunny walked over, her arm held out in front of her until she felt something stop her. She ran her arm across the invisible wall and even flew up a ways before coming back down with a shrug.

"Weird. We didn't feel anything when we went through," Sally imitated Bunny's action.

"Uuuum. Guys?" Sonic calmly walked to the other side of the barrier directly in front of Sally.


	4. The Meeting

**Like half of this was written just cause my mom was taking forever in Macy's. Oh well. Here ya go everyone.**

 **And thanks to everyone who's been reviewing. I'll probably start replying to them after this chapter like I usually do but right now I have really iffy wifi so I've gotta go fast.**

"Sonic? How?" Sally pushed as hard as she could against the wall but to no avail. All she accomplished was making her arms tired.

"I don't know. There's just no barrier for me," Sonic shrugged.

"Nicole," Sally whipped out her small computer, "Can you scan it?"

"Unable to scan, Sally. Interference makes it impossible to isolate signal."

"Interference?"

"I can go alone. Maybe I can take this thing out so you guys can come over." Sonic suggested, looking ready to run off as soon as the princess gave him the clear.

She did not, "No. This can't be a good sign. Especially since you're the only who can go through it."

"Well then how did you go through earlier?"

"Probably because you were carrying me. I was close enough to you that the barrier didn't even notice me."

"Why don't I just carry all of you through then?"

"Sonic you can't carry Dulcy, and she's the only one who can get the pollution readings. Besides there might be a trap."

"Trap? Robuttnik's _gone_ Sal."

"That doesn't mean he didn't set something up in case such a thing happened."

Bunny sighed, "Here they go again."

"You'd think they'd get better when they started dating." Dulcy added.

The two watched the bickering couple fight a few minutes longer with a mix of amusement and exasperation. Eventually though Sally wore the hedgehog down and the four returned to Knothole. With a very grumpy hedgehog.

"What are you guys doing back so early?" Uncle Chuck asked as he entered the landing field.

"There was a problem," Sally told him grimly.

"Problem?" Chuck looked between the two, "Is that why you look so down Sonny?"

Sonic sighed overdramatically, making Sally roll her eyes at him, "Sort of."

"We need to get the others so they can-" the squirrel was interrupted by a loud crashing sound behind them. They all turned to see Ducly rubbing her chin from one of her signature crashes. Bunny had been propelled quite a ways away from the landing point.

"I'll go get the others," the robotized hedgehog told them as they went to help the dragon and rabbit.

Half an hour later, all members of the Freedom Fighters had been gathered. Antoine seemed very nervous, but when was he not. Rotor was looking around, obviously very curious about what had happened during their mission. Uncle Chuck seemed eager to start as well, but was much better at hiding it than the walrus. Tails had come as well. He could barely see over the table. Eventually Sonic just grabbed him and put him on his lap. Bunny was patiently waiting for Sally to start the meeting. Sonic was very impatient as he waited for the princess. The small fox sitting on him was the only this keeping him from tapping his foot like he usually did.

"Okay," all eyes turned toward Sally as she began, "Obviously something went wrong during our scouting."

"Is the city okay?" Rotor asked.

"We didn't even make it there," a few surprised noises came from around the table but it quickly quieted down. "Before we got there we found an invisible barrier that completely stopped us. We tried to find a gap or something to let us through but there was nothing."

"Did Nichole scan it?" Uncle Chuck questioned.

"She couldn't get a clear reading. Apparently there's interference everywhere that makes it impossible."

"So zere iz no way to get through?"

"I can," Sonic piped up. Everyone turned to him, "Don't know why though."

"Does that mean it's a trap?"

"That's a pretty good possibility, yes."

"Sonic can handle it! Right Sonic?" Tails boasted from said hedgehog's lap.

"Exactly," he messed with the kit's bangs, "I can easily go in and take out whatever's keepin' us out."

"That may be our only option Princess," Uncle Chuck said before Sally could start arguing. She turned to the older hedgehog, surprised. "If we can't get a clear reading then we won't be able to find a way to take it out from here."

"It's no problemo Sal. I'll just find whatever device is controlling it and take it out. No prob."

"Well it might not be a device Sonny. It could possibly be some sort of spell."

"Magic!" Sally quickly pulled out Nichole, placing her on the table, "Nichole, could you at least tell if the signal was magical or not?"

"All signals in the area contained magical energy Sally."

Sonic's hand subconsciously went into his spines. He didn't realize he was doing it until Tails called him out, "Sonic what are you doing?"

"Huh?" his hand had reached the object hidden there by the time Tails had brought it to his attention, and by then all members of the Freedom Fighters were looking at him.

"What are you reaching for?" Sally asked.

"Er," looks like he's not getting out of this one. He slowly placed the guitar shaped medallion onto the table.

"You still have that Sonny?" Sonic nodded to his Uncle sheepishly. "I thought you'd somehow lost it."

Sally picked up the necklace, "How long have you had this?"

"Since I was a baby," Sonic told her, "My parents found me with it."

"Found?"

Crap.

"I thought you didn't know about that Sonic," Uncle Chuck looked at Sonic, concerned.

Everyone was staring at him now. It was very uncomfortable, "Well, yeah I knew I was adopted. You're the only hedgehog family member after all."

"Yes but they never told you about _how_ ," he established, "Who told you?"

Sonic stayed silent. What was he supposed to say? He had promised, but this situation…


	5. Prince

**Last week of school! Whoo! And since we're doing practically nothing in most of my classes I'm actually ahead in my writing! But I'm going to try and space them out cause, ya know. Cliffhangers. *Evil cackling in the distance***

 **Serene Serious:** **You misunderstand me. I completely knew what I was doing when I wrote 'Gotta go fast' X3**

 **Awdures:** **If you like mix ups like this I got some stories in my favs if you want to take a look. They're all really cool.**

 **skiller339:** **I'm guessing it wouldn't help the fact that I finished this chapter like, an hour or so after I posted the cliffy huh? ;P**

"Sally," the small computer piped up drawing all attention away from the hedgehog. He was grateful, but only for a moment, "The medallion matches one of which that has been handed down through the Hedgehog lineage."

"Hedgehog lineage?"

Sonic felt like he was going to die.

"The royal family of a neighboring kingdom," Sally nearly dropped the medallion when she heard 'royal'. "They were-"

"That's enough Nichole," everyone turned back to Sonic, who had his face buried in his hand, "I can tell them the rest."

Nichole did as she was told and didn't say another word. No one did. The silence hung in the air. It felt like a weight on all of them, especially Sonic.

"Sonny?" Uncle Chuck tried gently. He put a hand on his nephew's shoulder, but took it away when he shook his head.

Taking a deep breath, he looked up to his friend's curious and worried gazes, "There are three of those medallions," he said, indicating towards his. "A guitar (mine), keyboard, and drum set. They're all heirlooms of a royal family that was one of Robotnik's first victims. The queen of that family had to give her kids to three different families to fulfill a prophecy to defeat Robotnik."

"And what happened to those kids?"

"They all grew up with their respective families with no idea about their siblings or who their birth mother really was, and eventually, an oracle came to one of them, telling them of the prophecy and of their origins. They went out and found the other two and they started to lead their Freedom Fighters within the city."

Sonic grew quiet. Trying to gather the courage to say what he needed. All he wanted was to run back to his hut, but the two tailed fox sitting on him acted as an anchor that kept him there.

He closed his eyes, and took one more breath, "Their names are Sonia, Manic," his fist tightened on the table, "and Sonic."

Everything stopped. Nothing moved; nothing spoke. It felt like everything had suddenly been put on pause. Sonic wasn't sure if he was even breathing. This wasn't how he had planned to tell them.

"Why have you kept this from us?" He could hear the anger and sternness in Sally's voice and he knew that if he looked over he'd see sadness lacing through her eyes.

Tears started to form in his own, "I wasn't allowed to," he tried his best to keep the tears from escaping but they continued to come until they overflowed over his cheeks, "I really wanted to. I got that distress signal you sent the day I came back here and left immediately. But the Oracle stopped me, the one who gave us the prophecy, and told me that if I ever even mentioned my birth family or the kingdom then the whole prophecy could fall apart and defeating Robotnik would be next to impossible."

Sally felt her anger slowly unknot itself from her heart. She'd never seen him cry. None of them had. And his voice sounded so broken. He had wanted to tell them so badly, but couldn't in fear of taking away their chance of defeating Robotnik.

"I've been trying to decide whether or not it would be safe to tell you now that Robotnik's gone," Sonic wiped his tears away, still not meeting anyone's eyes, "But I guess the decision was made for me." He unclenched his hand. "I never wanted to hurt any of you by keeping this from you." He added quietly.

It took the hedgehog by surprise when he felt a tight grip around his chest. Tails had quickly hugged him as soon as he had finished his story, smiling up at the hedgehog, "I think that just makes you sound even cooler."

Sonic gave a weak laugh and hugged him back, "Thanks big guy."

Sally wrapped her arms around his neck, "It must have been killing you keeping that inside so long."

A wave of relief flooded his system as he leaned closer to her, "Yeah."

"Well you're still Sonic no matter what right?" Rotor added cheerfully, wiping away forming tears of his own.

"It iz certainly zurprising," Antione admitted, "But it doez not zeem to change anyzing about you that I can tell."

"Aw sugar-hog. We all love ya no matter what. Don't ya forget it alright."

"Thanks guys. Thanks a ton. You guys are the best."

Uncle Chuck put a hand on his shoulder, "Who would have thought that that little baby hedgehog left on the doorstep would turn out to be a prince."

"I know right," Sonic laughed, the light slowly returning to his eyes.

Tails reached for the medallion, which had been left of the table. "Why were you grabbing for it anyway."

"Honestly I didn't even realize I was grabbing for it. Guess it was 'cause we were talking about magic."

"Huh?"

"Well it's magic too."

"Really?" Tails asked excitedly.

"Maybe that's how you got through the barrier," Sally thought out loud, an arm still around him.

"What does it do? What does it do?" the ten year old presented the medallion to the hedgehog enthusiastically.

"Alright. Alright. Here," he took the necklace and placed the fox on the ground. He tied the string around his neck and felt the familiar weight pull down on his neck. "Watch this."

He touched the guitar and a bright light surrounded his hands. When it faded a purple double necked guitar rested in his hands. He strummed the chords some, feeling extreme joy spread through his systems as each notes floated into the air.

"A guitar? Zat iz all it doez?" Antione questioned, befuddled.

"Of course not." He aimed the neck towards a pinecone on a nearby tree and slammed down the notes, releasing a blue laser from the neck that knocked it off of its perch on the branch. Jaws dropped. "I stopped using it when I got back cause of the whole thing with the oracle, but I also wanted to start relying on it a bit less. I've been keeping it with me at all times though, just in case."

"That is so cool!" Tails ran up, asking Sonic several questions about the guitar and if he could play it. He was talking so fast Sonic didn't even have time to answer any of the questions.

"Sonic," he looked up as the princess called his name and instantly noticed the thoughtful look on her face, "What was that prophecy that you were telling us about?"

His face grew serious, "When me and my siblings met our mother, we would become the council of four and Robotnik would fall." He turned the guitar back into a necklace (with a small 'oh!' from Tails as a result.) "It's been bothering me a lot since we took out Robotnik. I _know_ for a _fact_ that we defeated him. There's no question about it. But it didn't match up with the prophecy."

"Could he have been wrong?" Rotor asked.

"No. He's never gotten one wrong as far as I know."

"Maybe it has something to do with the barrier," they all turned to Sally as she started theorizing, "Perhaps Robotnik left something behind to continue his reign after he was gone and that's what he was talking about and what's put up the barrier."

"But what?"

"That I don't know. But it's something at least."

"Never a dull moment with the Freedom Fighters huh?"

Sonic put out his fist to the group and each member placed theirs right next to his.

"It wouldn't be fun that way," Tails said, and the entire group smiled and laughed.

Nothing could break up this group. Not now, not ever.

* * *

"Hey Sonia," Manic's eyes drooped from his spot on the ground by Sonia's work area. He didn't sit on the bed in fear of falling asleep at the comfort. "How long till you get the location?"

"It shouldn't be too long. I hope."

"You hope?"

His sister paused her work and turned to him, "I can't tell where exactly it's going to be. I'm just translating the area it talked about the stones blindly. So be patient."

Manic pouted, but said nothing as she returned to her work.

About half an hour later, the drummer was awaken by a loud cry of triumph from Sonia. He got up to look at the screen as Sonia excitedly hugged him. He smiled at her with the same excitement.

They found Sonic.


	6. Interception

**Yo! I've been working on a cosplay for a while so I kept forgetting to update but now I'm here! I'm going to a con in a couple of days so I have to finish it soon. Yay procrastination! (also the option for the big lines keeps disappearing? IDK why)**

 **Serene Serious: Er... You'll see *Evil smile***

 **skiller339: Possibly. Maybe. I don't know. This one does.**

 **Insanity Allegra: Not as soon as you may think X3**

"So tell us about this kingdom of yours Sonic," Sally requested as they all sat back down.

"I don't really know that much," he admitted, "I was a baby after all. Uncle Chuck might remember more."

They all turned to said uncle, but he simply shrugged, "Sorry Sonny, but I don't know anything about that place."

"What?" Sonic's face contorted into confusion and worry, "Uncle Chuck that's where we lived for most of my childhood. How can you not remember about it?"

The robotized hedgehog copied his nephew's expression, "I remember raising you Sonic, but I don't remember anything about this kingdom."

How was that possible? His parents would talk about Queen Alena and the kingdom before Robotnik with him all the time. Sure, they left after Robotnik came and burned down his house to the Acorn Kingdom, but it had only been for a few years. Robotnik had made his way into the royal court without anyone realizing his identity. (How he did that no one will ever never know). After that we all escaped to Knothole and Chuck brought them back to fight in the Freedom Fighters. That was where he got robotized for pete's sake! How could he not remember?

"Maybe Robotnik did something to him after he was robotized," Sally guessed, "He must not have wanted any information about it to reach over here."

"Why?" Sonic felt anger bubbling up toward the fallen dictator.

"You said that there was a Freedom Fighter group in the city right?" he nodded, "He was probably trying to keep us separated. Keeping us divided would make it easier for him to take us down."

"Well that worked well," Rotor noted sarcastically.

"I'm sorry Sonny," Uncle Chuck put a hand on the hedgehog's shoulder.

"Don't worry 'bout it Unc. It's not your fault," he turned to Sally, "Does Nichole know anything?"

She picked up the computer, "Nichole?"

"The Hedgehog Kingdom was ruled by Queen Aleena before their overthrow by Robotnik. As the threat of Robotnik rose, they formed an alliance with the Acorn Kingdom," they all exchanged surprised looks but let Nichole continue, "Soon afterward, all contact with the kingdom was lost and the King fear the worst. Charles's arrival with the state of the kingdom a few years later confirmed this. Not long after he unknowingly allowed Robotnik into his court and you know the rest."

"So our parents knew each other," Sonic said when she finished.

"Looks like it."

Sonic leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Maybe Sonia would know more."

"That's yer sister right?" Bunny asked.

"Yeah. She's the only one of us that's actually been to school so she might know a bit more."

"School? How?"

Oh right. All schools were shut down when Robotnik took over the Acorn Kingdom. "Well, Sonia was given to an aristocrat, and over there Robuttnik left them alone so that they would give him money. I think he wanted someone to brag to too."

"Zat iz terrible!"

He shrugged, "That's just how it is. But Sonia's knowledge has come in handy."

"Do they know you're here?" Rotor asked.

"Well yeah," Sonic said, "I sent a message while I was running here so they wouldn't be worried. And I've been sending messages now and then since I've gotten here too, but…"

"But what?"

"But I haven't gotten any replies yet."

* * *

"Are you guys sure you're ready?" Cyrus asked as the two royal hedgehogs made their final preparations.

"Of course," Sonia hopped out of the van and walked over to the worrisome lion, "We'll be fine."

"I know you will," he bit his lip, "But those coordinates are so close. It's weird that he wouldn't call or anything," his eyes grew very serious, "Something may have happened to him."

Sonia crossed her arms over her chest, "We know. But that just means that we have to find him even more."

"Don't worry 'bout it Cy," Manic hooked an arm around his neck, "We'll be back before ya know it."

Cyrus sighed. This whole family was stubborn. "Alright. Just make sure to keep me updated."

Manic saluted him with a mischievous smile, "Aye aye sir."

"We better get going," Sonia told him walk over to the van, "See you later Cyrus."

The drummer scrambled to catch up to his sister, "Later!"

Cyrus watched the two drive off. He had a strange feeling about this, but he knew that they'd be able to handle anything. Especially since it involved Sonic.

* * *

They had all gathered in Sonic's hut. Everyone was around the small device that the hedgehog had been using to send his siblings messages. Rotor had started to take it apart as they continued to talk.

"Like I said," Sonic sat on his bed, watching the walrus work, "It says that it's sent, but I've never gotten anything back. I don't know if it's something wrong with that or if they're just mad at me. I could never really go check since Robotnik attacked us so often."

"Everything seems to be okay," Rotor mused as he turned the different pieces in his hands, "I'll have to plug it up to my computer to make sure all the programing is working."

He got up, gathering the disassembled gadget in his arms carefully, and headed out to his work shop. Sonic flopped down on his bed with a disgruntled sigh.

"Oh relax," Sally sat down next to where the hedgehog laid, "It'll be fine and you know it."

He hummed in agreement but said nothing else. He had a bad feeling about this and he had no idea why. It was probably just paranoia left over from Robotnik.

"Hey, Sonic," the said hedgehog looked up in time to see Tails crawl up onto the bed with them, "Do you have any pictures of them?"

He smiled at the small fox, "Yeah. Just give me a sonic second." He flashed off to the desk and rummaged around in the drawer. A moment later he was back on the bed holding out a small photo.

Everyone gathered around to get a look. In it was a younger Sonic wearing his medallion wrestling with a green hedgehog with an orange vest. His arms were blurry as a result of trying to fend off the attacker. Next to them was a pink hedgehog, who was holding the camera out. She looked completely exasperated by the boy's antics, but still had a small smile touching her lips.

Sally smiled the girl's expression. One that she often wore when dealing with the blue hedgehog, "I think your sister and I will get along very well."

"Ya'll look so different," Bunny pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess so," Sonic admitted, scanning the picture, "But we do all have the same eyes."

"Your right."

"Aren't I always?"

"No."

"Yes I am."

"Nope."

"I'm totally always right."

"Are not."

"Am too."

"Are-"

Their playful banter was cut short as Rotor burst through the door, panting like he had run all the way here. Suddenly Sonic remembered that bad feeling he had.

"What's wrong Sugar?"

"I found why none of your messages have gotten through," Rotor told them as he caught his breath.

"Well?" Sonic prompted impatiently.

"Sonic, all of your transmissions where intercepted. They haven't seen any of your messages."


	7. Crashed and Blocked

**Sorry this took so long. We had more planned for this summer than I realized. That and a bit of procrastination. Sorry.**

 **I love how like half of these reviews were basically "ROBUTTNIK!" I will not say anything regarding the egghead but will definitely say I had a good laugh when I read them. :)**

 **Serene Serious** **: Thanks. The con went really well. Though not many people knew who I was. But I got to dance with Hikaru from Ouron High School Host club so hey things went pretty well in my opinion.**

 **Skiller339:** **You should try to go to one. They're a lot of fun. And weird. While I was waiting in line for something a hoard of furries came to say hi to a friend and I got hit by a tail like 3 times.**

 **Insanity Allegra:** **I tried! They disappeared! I don't know whyyyyy! I got it fixed now though so it all good. :3**

"So how much further till we reach that forest?" Manic asked as he beat against the dash of their van.

"Well we're a bit out of the city and it's not too far so-"

She was cut short as the van came to a violent stop, jerking the two forward as far as their seatbelts allowed. Manic's drumsticks flew at the windshield and bounced back, nearly nailing the drummer.

The initial shock of the crash wore off quickly and the two ran out to take in the damage of both the van and whatever it was that they had hit.

Well, they were able to do one of those things.

"What did we hit?" Manic looked around the empty space, trying to find any clue as to what had suddenly stopped their progress.

"I don't know. Whatever it is seems to be gone."

"How?"

She looked at the front of the van, uncertainty covering her face, "Not sure. We can't do much about it though. Is the van okay?"

The front end had crunched upon itself, making it difficult for Manic to pull the hood up to examine the inner workings of the vehicle. He came very close to hitting himself as it suddenly flew up. Ignoring Sonia's giggle beside him, he peeked into the inner working of the van and scanned all the different parts for any issues.

"It looks like most of it is alright. Nothing critical is hurt," He informed his sister, "The headlights are out of commission though, so we'll have to be careful when it gets dark."

"Okay. Let's get going then. We just have to make it to the forest and we should be fine. We can't drive through there anyway."

"Right," they hopped back into their seats and Sonia hit the gas.

…And went nowhere.

* * *

"What the heck?!"

"Intercepted? By who?"

Sonic had jumped up as soon as the news had left Rotor's mouth.

"Well the messages seem to have been rerouted to Robotnik's base-"

"Robotnik?!"

"Sonic calm down," Sally gently pulled the hedgehog back down onto the bed next to her. He didn't fight her. His eyes stayed transfixed on Rotor as the walrus continued.

"They all ended up at Robotnik's base. Including the one you sent recently. I'm pretty sure that there was some sort of system that Robotnik set up to stop all your transmissions. That's the only way it could have been hacked at this point."

"So my family probably thinks I just abandoned them out of the blue for over a year," Sonic laid down on his back, covering his eyes from the rest of his friends.

"Sonic…"

What exactly were they supposed to say?

Not much apparently, "I need to go to Robotropilis."

"Sonic wait," Sally managed to grab his hand just in time before he could bolt out of the hut, "I know you want to go see them, but right now it's too dangerous."

"I don't care."

"And that's the problem. What if whatever is producing that barrier gets to you first? You won't be able to see them if your captured or hurt or-" she refused to finish the sentence.

"I'm the fastest thing alive. It won't be able to get anywhere near me"

"We're dealing with magic here Sonic. We've clearly seen that it can easily take care of your speed."

"Tch," it seemed that he was fighting a losing battle. Of course impossible odds have never stopped him before. "Sally, they're my family. I don't care about the risk. I need to go."

Her grip on him tightened, "There might not be anything in that head of yours, but try using it anyway," Sonic winced at the pain the princess was causing his hand. She loosened her hold slightly, but still kept a firm hold of him, "Your family aren't the only people who need you Sonic. At least wait until we can better identify the threat before you run off okay?"

"I can try to cancel out the signals messing with your communication device so you can send them a message if you want," Rotor quietly added.

Sonic stayed silent for several minutes, staring at Sally with clouded eyes. With a sigh, he finally resigned to the princess's demands, "Alright. Just try to hurry?"

"Of course," Sally gave Sonic a small kiss on the cheek.

* * *

Tails swung his legs over the small river running through Knothole. Bunny had herded him out of Sonic's hut when he and Aunt Sally started to fight. He assumed that they would make up. They always did after all.

'I wonder what it's like having siblings,' Tails thought. He had been alone for as long as he could remember. He had really blurry memories of when mean old Robotnik showed up but he was too little to remember much else. The only family he had were the freedom fighters and they were all older than him.

His mind didn't stay there long however. Being ten years old seemed to shorten his attention span quite a bit and it had derailed his mind as soon as it saw something floating down the river.

Spinning his tails he flew after the small object. He caught up to it quickly and pulled it out of the rapid current of the river. It looked like a long drumstick. Wondering where the lone stick had come from, he followed the path of the river with his eyes, but there was no one there who could have dropped it in. Maybe it came from somewhere in the forest.

Deciding to investigate, the kitune flew upstream into the expanse of the Great Forest. Staying near the water so that he wouldn't get lost, Tails wondered through the trees to see if he could find its matching partner and its owner.

His investigation yielded no results however and he soon decided that he should head back to the village before anyone got worried. He looked down at the drumstick in his hand. Whoever owned it was probably missing it. They'd probably be looking down the river for it since they dropped it in. Maybe if he left in by the bank they would be able to find it.

The fox bent down and stuck the stick as far into the ground as he could and moved some dirt around it to make sure that it wouldn't fall in again. Hopefully they wouldn't mind it being a little dirty when they found it.

He left it there, hoping that it would soon be reunited with its owner.

And indeed it was.


	8. Drumstick

**So this chapter is a bit short, but I think the content might help make up for it. I'm in Texas with my family at the moment and it's midnight so I am tired. I also had a dog laying on the keyboard while I was doing stuff. When I was watching videos he kept pausing it and screwing everything up! Plus it was subbed anime so it was sort of hard to read through dog. But eh. He's cute.**

 **Serene Serious:** **Yeah. Neither of us really knew how to dance though. We sort of winged it.**

 **Insanity Allegra:** **Oh you're going to have fun here.** ***Evil laughter***

 **Skiller339:** **I'm sure you will. There are some pretty cheap ones out there. And if not a lot of the bigger ones have started to do livestreams of the panels. I'm not sure where to find them though. Sorry.**

"Manic, it might be a lost cause at this point."

"No way. It's gotta be here somewhere."

His sister sighed from out behind him. It had been a long day and this sure wasn't helping her mood. First the incident with the van, which had refused to move forward no matter how much the wheels spun. Then, after they called Cyrus to update him of the situation, they had to walk all this way on foot. Of course this had made the trip much harder and longer which Sonia did not appreciate. And now they had finally arrived at a forest that was close to their coordinates and Manic tripped over some root and dropped one of his drumsticks into a nearby river. So here they were, running down the river stream looking for the lone stick.

"Manic," she watched the green hedgehog's eyes scanning the water and bank. Why couldn't he be this diligent all the time? "It's probably gone way ahead of us by now."

"It's nearby. I can feel it," he told her without taking his gaze off the stream. He ignored her sigh.

These were special drumsticks. Ferral had given them to him. Well, technically Manic had pick pocketed them off him, but he had been planning on giving them to him anyway. Over the years he's had them, they'd became his lucky sticks. He rarely brought them out on field work like this unless it was something big, but he felt like they could really use some good luck. Of course he had dropped one of them. He had to find it.

Sonia decided to drop the issue. She could see the panic and worry starting to rise in his eyes, which was a very rare thing to see. She just silently dragged behind, enjoying the shade the overhead trees provided.

"Ah!" Manic's sudden yelled had startled her out of her daze. She whipped her head to her brother who was running forward with a large smile on his face. She looked ahead of his to see a small stick protruding out of the ground.

"Told ya," he gloated when she arrived on the scene.

"Yeah…" Sonia examined the recovered stick. She stopped her brother's hand when he reached out to grab it, receiving a startled and confused glare from him, "I don't think that it just washed up on shore, Manic." He didn't say anything though his expression spoke enough to get his confusion across, "It looks like someone moved up the dirt around the base. Look."

He did as she said and looked at the spot she was looking at. Sure enough, the dirt around the stick was packed tightly together and the surrounding soil was slightly dug up. "So do you think-" he stopped suddenly when he touched his stick and, like a trigger, rustling started in the bushes in front of them.

* * *

As soon as he returned to the village Tails sought out Sonic. Luckily the blue hedgehog stuck out and he was able to quickly locate him near the lake of rings.

"Sonic!" he practically tackled the unsuspecting hedgehog.

"Whoa!" Sonic was barely able to keep himself from falling off the log at the young kit's attack, "Hey there buddy. What's up?"

"Nothin'. What are you doing down here?"

"I was with Sally, but she went off to get an update from Uncle Chuck and Rotor about this whole situation." He sighed heavily, the dozens of emotions pounded onto him clearly making an appearance.

"Oh. Okay," the two tailed fox sat down next to the hedgehog with his legs crossed. "Hey, Sonic?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think you're siblings will like me?"

Sonic nearly fell off the log again at the sudden question. "Wha-? Of course they will!"

Tails smiled at the answer (giggling a bit at his surprise). Sonic had to wonder where the question came from. Tails had always been confident in himself. Maybe it was just the fact that they didn't meet a lot of new faces around here. They were keeping this village top secret after all. Although he did make quick friends with that Terrapod he had found in the forrest.

He looked down at the ten year old. He had started messing with his tails after his question was answered, though he was just making them dirty with all that dirt on his gloves. Wait. "Tails, how'd you get your hands so dirty?"

The fox looked down at his hands, as if he was just now noticing the soil that covered them. "Oh I found a drumstick in the river earlier. I tried to find the owner but I couldn't so I left it on the bank. I put some dirt around it so it wouldn't fall in again."

"A drumstick?" his mind instantly went to his brother but he knew that couldn't be. He should be in Robotropilis, and he certainly wouldn't drop one of his drumsticks into a river. It took way too good care of them to do that. And yet, the possibility refused to leave his mind. What if that _was_ his? What if he _was_ here? He could definitely be clumsy at times.

Eventually he gave in, "Tails, can you show me where you left it?"

"Um, sure." The fox was certainly confused by the request but still lead him up the river to where he had left the stick buried.

They went through some brush when they neared the spot. He scratched at Sonic a bit but he wasn't really paying attention to that. His focus was on getting to that spot and identifying that stick. With his luck it was just from their own set they had at the stage…

And then they made eye contact.


	9. The Underground

**I suck at uploading nowadays don't I? I don't mean to I swear! You can blame this one on video game design camp tho. I had absolutely no time to work on this stuff. But they brought dogs and it was amazing.**

 **Insanity Allegra: I'M SORRY! I GOT LIKE TWO HOURS OF SLEEP BECAUSE OF THAT DOG! I WILL FITE YOUUUUU! *Pulls out my green belt in tai kwon do, my bow and arrows, and the like fifteen weapons I have collected* FIIIIIIIITE!**

 **Serene Serious: They hit that barrier between the city and the rest of the world. It was too big for it to be counted as the 'close proximity' we've discovered is the only way others can get through. Sonic will explain it to them in a later chapter probably but I didn't think it was much of a spoiler. It was kinda intended for the reader to figure it out... Sorry bout that.**

As soon as all three hazel eyes found each other, the whole world froze. The rushing waters next to them stood still and all the bugs became silent. Time came to a halt. There was nothing else but the owners of each pair of brown eyes. None of them spoke. None of them moved.

Well except the small little fox who, as soon as he peeked through the leaves and saw the two visitors, rushed back to Knothole to inform the others.

Tears started to rush into the eyes of the sister and everything rushed back into motion as she tackled her blue brother to the ground. Her grip on him squeezed the air out of him and she sobbed into his chest. Every worry, every regret, every emotion she had bottled up for the past year releasing through the salty tears streaming down her face.

The youngest just stood there, his stick still standing patiently in the dirt, dumbfounded. His brain tried to comprehend what he was seeing. _Who_ he was seeing. His mind had stopped. Not a thought could form itself. It was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the sight of their brother. Safe. Alive. Here.

The grip around the previously missing brother was released, only to be replaced by the fists, which had just been wrapped around him in a deathening hug, pounding continuously on his chest.

"Where have you been?! Why haven't you contacted us?! Why did you leave?!"

Each question was yelled out in rhythm to each hit that landed. His brain finally seeming to function after the sudden outburst, ran to try to calm his sister, but the eldest beat him to it. He grabbed her wrists as they came down to make contact once again. He looked straight into her puffy red eyes and she saw the tears that had formed in his own.

"I have been contacting you. I've been calling you from the start. But all of them-" pain and anger flashed through his eyes and he paused, trying to gather his thoughts, "All of them were intercepted. Someone stopped them. All this time I thought-" he stopped, his tears finally spilling out of his eyes, "I'm so sorry."

His grasp around her wrists loosened and she took the chance to fling her arms around his neck and bury her face against his fur. He was stunned. And when his brother joined the hug he completely broke down.

"Sonia… Manic…"

"We missed you Sonic."

"It's good to have you back bro."

* * *

"Sally! Sally!"

"Tails?" the squirrel stepped out of Rotor's hut, hearing the fox's distressed calls, "What's wrong?"

The kitsune started tugging the princess the way he had come as the others gathered around, "Intheforest!IfoundadrumstickandItriedtofindtheownerbutIcouldn'tsoIleftitbytheriverandItoldSonicand-"

"Tails calm down!" Sally interrupted him.

"We can't understand a darn thing you're sayin' sugar."

"Sonic's brother and sister are in the forest!"

A stunned silence filled the air; Tails's grunts as he continued to pull on Sally the only noise that could be heard.

"Tails," Sally bent down so that she was level with him and placed her hands on his shoulders, "Are you sure?"

He nodded vigorously, "Sonic's with them right now. I came back when I saw them."

"He's with them?" all eyes turned to the princess. One question flitted through all of their heads.

"What are we going to do, Sal?"

* * *

Sonic couldn't stop shaking as he released the hug. He couldn't believe it. They were here. They were right next to him. After a year. A _year_.

He could feel the anxiety and worry that had built up inside him throughout the day fizzle away as he looked between the two. "How did you guys find me?"

"This book the Oracle gave us," Manic told him as he wiped away his own tears.

It wasn't much of an explanation though, "The Oracle?"

Sonia took over, "The book he gave us told of different magical objects and where to find them. Your picture was in a section about some Deep Power Stones so we followed the coordinates and found you," she slumped over slightly with a heavy sigh, "I'm glad I translated it right."

"The power stones? Geez those things helped out more than I thought," he added under his breath. His siblings asked about what he had said but he just dismissed it.

"What have you been doing anyway?" Manic asked, "Have you been in this forest the entire time?"

"Well yeah. There's a hidden village here that's the base for the Acorn Kingdom Freedom Fighters." He explained.

He received blank looks. "Okay I have multiple questions about that statement."

"One of them has to do with the Freedom Fighters here right? And why I didn't introduce them to everyone in the city?" Sonia nodded, "The Oracle told me that if I told them about our kingdom, the prophecy would be put in danger."

"He knew about this?" he nodded, "Oh I am having a talk with him."

"Calm down Sis. It's alright. We're all here now right?" Manic pointed out.

Sonia smiled at her brother's words, "Right."

Sonic brought the two closer, joy bubbling up inside him, "I'd say the Sonic Underground is back together. And not breaking up again any time soon."

"One hundred percent bro."

Sonia laughed as she hugged the blue hedgehog and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

"You'd better get that stick before the river sweeps it away again," Sonic pointed out to Manic and some water splashed up dangerously near it.

"Ah!" he quickly scrambled over and plucked it out of the ground. He pouted at his siblings as they started to giggle, "You shouldn't have put so close so close to the river then bro!"

"That wasn't me."

"Huh?"

The one responsible fell out of the bushes behind them, making all of them jump. The small fox's face turned red when he realized they had all seen his folly.

"Hey there Buddy." Sonic greeted, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice as his expression.

"Tails are you alright?" a squirrel soon appeared next to the child, freezing when she saw the three hedgehogs.

Soon others appeared. A coyote, a walrus, and a rabbit (though they could only see her head since she was mostly in the bush).

Sonia turned to her brother, "Friends of yours?"


	10. Introductions

**Writer's block's a b****.**

 **Sorry the chapters so short but it's the best I've got right now**

 **Insanity Allgera: SORRRYYY! I will make it up to you with a super chapter whenever my brain starts working! 3X**

 **Skiller339: Yeah she's a squirrel. I don't know why she doesn't have a tail though. Her brother and dad do in the comics... Sega's weird. P You'll have to wait a bit for Uncle Chuck. But it's closer than you think. X3**

 **gwencarson126: Don't worry I won't stop writing! Sorry this took so long.**

Silence reigned over the area as they all stared at each other. Sonic found the whole thing rather amusing. His Knothole friends? Not so much.

Sonia and Manic were just really confused.

Finally Sonic got up and helped the fallen fox to his feet, who then immediately hid behind the blue hedgehog. "Sonia, Manic, these are my friends from the Knothole freedom fighters."

Sally came to stand by Sonic, her cheeks hinted with a bit of pink, "Sorry we interrupted."

"Actually that was pretty good timing. I was about to tell them about you guys."

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Manic smiled, taking some of the tension out of the air, "Where one of you the one who found my stick?" he asked, holding up said stick.

Not moving from his spot, Tails raised his hand, glancing around his hedgehog barrier. Sonic smiled at how shy the fox was acting and turned his body so that he could ruffle the kit's bangs, "This is Tails. He's the one who found it floating in the river."

The green hedgehog bent down to the child's height, "Thanks a lot! I was really freaking out about losing it."

Tails allowed a small grin, but still stayed behind Sonic.

"It's nice to meet you all," the female hedgehog came up to the group as Manic stood up, "I'm Sonia and this is Manic." The latter waved as he was announced.

"Same to you," the walrus tipped his hat to the two, "I'm Rotor."

"Antione." The coyote stated, bowing to them.

"Ah'm Bunny," the rabbit exited the bush she had been standing in. Noticing the surprised looks the two gave her robotic appendages she explained, "Robotnik managed to git a hold of me when ah was little."

"Oh, sorry," Sonia apologized as she realized the looks they must have given her, "We were just a bit startled. I've only seen one other person who got partially robotized."

"There's someone else?!"

"It's a long story." Sonic told her.

The squirrel held out her hand, "I'm Sally."

Sonia took it and shook. "Is this all of you?"

"No. There are more back at the village. Come on, we'll show you." Sonic started to push the two into the brush.

Manic ran ahead, out of his brother's grip causing him to stumble slightly at the sudden loss of support. "Totally let's go."

"You don't know which way to go bro," Sonic pointed out when Manic turned around to run forward.

"Oh yeah."

"Yep. You're definitely related," Sally pointed out.

Sonic elbowed her playfully as they went to catch up with him.

"So," Sally jumped slightly as Sonia's sudden appearance beside her, "How much trouble has Sonic caused?"

She couldn't help but laugh, "So much."

They both giggled. It escalated when the blue hedgehog looked back at them suspiciously.

"What are you two laughing about?"

"Oh it's nothing."

"I highly doubt that."

The two feigned innocence as the group continued. Bunny, Antione, and Rotor snickering from behind them. Tails had hitched a ride on Sonics back with his arms linked around the hedgehog's neck.

"Here we go!" Sonic announced.

But, "Um there's nothing here…"

"Tails." The fox reach out at the hedgehog's request and pulled on a hanging vine next to them.

The two newcomers gaped at the sudden appearance of the slide.

"Oh that's so cool!" Manic exclaimed.

"Come on!" Sonic jumped through the opening, laughing as the twists and turns spun them about. He could hear everyone doing the same behind him.

Light burst through the end, blinding him for a second before landing among the soft pile of hay waiting for them. He stuck his head out of the pile just in time to see both his siblings exit and ram right into him.

"Ow!"

"Sorry!"

Sonic smiled, "Don't worry about it. Just about everyone has experienced that."

"But it's fun huh?" Tails asked, his head popping right next to Sonic.

"Mm-hm!"

"Hey Tails, you mind findin Dulc for me?" Sonic asked as they dug their way out of the pile.

"Sure!"

"Well he suddenly came out of his shell," Sonia noticed.

"He gets really happy after going down the slide so it was probably that. Hopefully he'll stay like that," Sonic looked back as the rest of his friends arrived, "He's normally pretty outgoing though, so it shouldn't take long for him to warm up to you guys."

"Oh good," Sonia looked off in the direction the small fox had run off, "He's pretty cute."

"Sonic," said hedgehog turned as Sally came up behind them, "Let's go find Uncle Chuck. I'm sure he'd want to hear about this."

Sonia and Manic spun to their brother, their eyes wide with surprise and question.

'Oh boy,' he thought, 'I've got a lot of explaining to do.'


	11. Uncle Chuck

**Alright so something weird happened and I don't know exactly what I did or why. I've apparently had this written for a while but it's also only about 300 words. What I usually strive for is about 1000 words so I'm not sure why a new chapter was started in word. I only noticed cause I had to go into the story to look at the reviews so I could reply.**

 **By then I had already done the intro thing for that chapter so here's what I'm going to do. I'm leaving the intro there and replying to the reviews on this chapter. I'll be posting both of them at the same time so really what you guys are getting is a big chapter in two. The reason I don't combine them is because I kinda like how I ended this one and I was a bit too lazy to try and think of how to combine them. I just had a bunch of tests at school though so it's a bit understandable.**

 **Anyway I hope you enjoy them!**

 **gwencarson126: Oh yeah I totally need to have them play a song. It'll totally be in here at some point :3**

 **skiller339: I guess Archie just thinks female squirrels don't have tails. It's weird but eh. Honestly I think we've seen weirder things in the Sonic franchise. XD**

Charles nearly had a heart attack when his door flew open behind him. When he spun around the Acorn princess was standing there with a large grin. Why must things happen when he's working on something? "What happened?"

"You won't believe it."

* * *

"Sonia. Manic. I can't explain if you guys are talking!" Sonic finally exclaimed. The two silenced after their five minute nonstop questioning of the poor hedgehog. "I barely understood any of that so I'll just take a guess at them. Yes my uncle who got robotized. He's still a robot, but he's not under Robotnik's control anymore."

"How'd you guys manage to do that?" Sonia asked.

"We didn't really do anything," he could see the question forming so he answered it before she could ask, "People can fight it from the inside. All we really have to do is help them make their way back."

"So we can save Lady Windimere!"

"And Feral."

Sonic nodded, smiling. "I wish you guys could've known about it earlier. If that dumb transmitter-"

Sonia put her hands on the blue hedgehog's shoulders, "What matters is that we know now right?" he nodded again.

"Sonny!"

Sonic turned to the voice, lighting up when he saw the hedgehog, "Hey Unc!" he waved him over, "Look who stopped by!"

The robotizied uncle ran up to them with a warm smile, "So these are the siblings you've been talking about."

"Yep. This is Sonia and Manic." He indicated to each of them, looking very happy with the meeting.

"It's nice to meet you two. I'm Uncle Chuck." Each of them shook his hand, slightly in awe at the sight of the fully aware robotized mobian. "Thank you for taking care of Sonic for so long."

Sonic blushed slightly but said nothing.

"It wasn't easy."

And now he made a very indignant sound at his sister's words.

His brother snickered quietly, but not quiet enough not to be heard and was promptly punched in the arm by his brother. This very quickly escalated until the two where playfully wrestling each other on the ground.

"And this would be why."

This time both boys made the indignant sounds.


	12. His defeat

**My computer hates me apparently. While I was writing this my computer randomly restarted on it's own** ** _before I saved my progress._** **I had to rewrite the first half of this thing and I'm so upset with it. Gah!**

"Hey guys," the two arrivals turned to their brother. They had all gathered in Sonic's hut with the three hedgehogs sitting on the bed and the others lounging around the lodge, quietly chatting until the blue hedgehog spoke.

"What's up?"

"Did you guys find any sort of barrier on your way here?"

The Knothole residents perked at the question. Why had they not thought to ask before? The initial response of them was a look of confusion.

"A barrier?"

"I don't remember seeing anything like that."

Sonic shook his head, "No. It's invisible. Earlier we tried to go to Robotropolis but we were stopped."

"Well _we_ were stopped," Sally corrected, "Sonic passed through without a problem."

"Hmm," Sonia looked slightly concerned as she looked back to her brother before her eyes sudden lit with realization, "Oh! The van!"

"The van?" Sonic repeated, "What about the van? Did you bring it?"

"No," Manic's eyes showed an identical light as he remembered the event his sister was referring to. Sonic just looked more confused, "We tried but it got stuck!"

"On what?"

"Nothing!" the two exclaimed simultaneously.

They got a few baffled looks before Sonia elaborated, "We were driving over here when it suddenly stopped. We went around to see what we'd hit and there wasn't anything there, but it still wouldn't move. It was like we hit a wall."

"An invisible wall." Sonic caught on.

"And yall didn't feel anythin'?" Both shook their heads in reply to the bunny.

"That supports the theory that those medallions is what lets you through the barrier." Sally stated thoughtfully.

"Our medallions?" Manic held out the small crystal drum set around his neck so that he could observe it.

Rotor stepped forward, "We found out that it's made of magic energy, so we think that since your medallions have strong magical energy, it allows you, and anyone in very close proximity, to pass through."

"Interesting," Sonia fiddled with her own, "If it's only us who can pass through does that mean it's some sort of trap?"

Sally gave Sonic a pointed stare, which he tried very hard to avoid. "At least someone in your family has some brains."

Sonia noticed the glare, "I'm not going to ask."

"Sonic probably did something stupid." Manic said.

"Hey!"

Sally grinned widely, trying to keep from snickering at Sonic's pout.

"Anyway," Uncle Chuck moved on, "We believe that may be the case, but we're not entirely sure yet. Robotnik might have set something up for the possibility of his defeat."

The two nearly choked, "Defeat?" Manic squeaked out.

Sonic looked concernedly between his siblings and his friends, "Yeah, it happened not too long ago. I sent you guys a message afterward but- well you know. Have there not been _any_ changes in Robotropolis?"

"N-no."

"But," Sonia looked like her mind was about to explode, "The prophecy…"

"I know," the blue hedgehog told her gently, "I've been trying to figure it out too."

"What happened?" Manic stressed.

He sighed, "Come on. We'll tell you the whole thing."

* * *

The small man paced around the small room, pausing to look out the massive window. To think hadn't known about the freedom fighters here. _He_ hadn't told him.

He grit his teeth at the thought. But that man was gone now. He could do whatever he wanted.

He felt the room grow slightly darker. Turning around he noticed the serpentine creature with two glowing red eyes enter the room. It didn't have to stay in that form though. It could change into whatever it wanted. In fact, it technically wasn't alive.

"More…" it said. It's voice was barely even a whisper.

"Don't worry," he turned back to the window, "There will be plenty soon enough."

* * *

"Oh my gosh," Sonia had her hand braced against her blue brother's arm, gaping at him in disbelief, "We didn't even know he was making such a horrible weapon."

"But we stopped it," Sonic assured her, "And there's no way that they're going to be made again anytime."

"Yeah that whole building was in wrecks when we left." Sally added.

"So he should be gone," Manic thought aloud, "But Robotropolis is the same."

"He may have set up some system to keep Robotropolis running," Rotor suggested, "But we'd have to into the city to find out what's happening."

"But we might be heading into a trap by doing that," Sonia reminded, "Remember we're the only ones who can go through."

"Oh!" Sonic's outburst made everyone jump and turn to them. And when they did they saw a bright light of realization in Sonic's eyes, "You guys were in it!"

The statement initially confused.

"Um…. Sonic?" his brother asked.

Realizing the vagueness of the statement, he continued, "You guys said that it might be a trap cause only we could go into the city right?" nods, "But Sonia and Manic were already in the city."

"That's right," Manic agreed.

"It could still be for you," Sally mentioned, "Robotnik knows you have that medallion."

"Yeah but it's magic," Sonic argued, "If he wanted to target me he could have just made it so that it was only me. He wouldn't have to include all the medallions."

Sally silently agreed, but she still didn't look happy. "But that doesn't take away the possibility that it is one _._ "

"We need to risk it," Sonic urged, "And don't forget-"

Everyone looked up at him.

"We've got a lot of friends in that city to help us out."


	13. Return

**RIght. So my mental health decided that it hated me so it made it super hard to write. I have a bit more detailed explanation of what was and is going on in my Epic Mickey/KH fic if you want more explanation but hey! I've got something now and I hope you all enjoy it. :3**

 **Skiller339: Don't worry about the whole guest thing. I've probably made dumber mistakes on this site X3. Sorry to keep you waiting so long. Kinda funny that I update the day after you review again. I didn't mean for that honest. I just looked and it happened that you reviewed yesterday :). Also I agree with the whole customization thing in Sonic Forces. Although the internet is** ** _full_** **of Sonic OCs so maybe they're just catering to the fanbase or something. *shrug***

Oh wow. The van has looked better. Of course it's also looked worse. Sonic looked over the crushed hood of the vehicle. Not that he could tell much about the inner workings of anything mechanical. "Is any of this working Manic?"

"Yeah, it just looks bad. It really just got the body of the van, nothin' vital."

"Cool."

"Sonic."

Sally was knocking on the barrier, looking at the hedgehog with an exasperated expression. He chuckled sheepishly and went to get her, "Sorry Sal."

She huffed as he brought her through. "How long will it take to get to the HQ?" the princess asked.

"We're a bit out from the city so maybe half an hour." Sonia guessed.

"Aw dang!" they heard Manic exclaim from inside the van. He swung out the door to the others, "The communications shorted out."

"What? We used it before we left to talk to Cyrus."

"It was probably something in the wiring. Sometimes it takes a while for that kind of damage to start messing with it. I'm guessing it stopped working not too long after we talked to him."

"Just means we get to surprise them!" Sonic stated optimistically.

Sonia grabbed Sonic and Sally's arms with a wide grin and led them to the van, "Then let's get going!"

…

"Hey Cyrus!" the lion looked down to the mouse that had called him, "When are Sonia and Manic supposed to be back?"

"I don't know," he told him, "They had to leave the van so I haven't gotten any updates since they left the city."

"Do you think they'll find him?" Trevor asked.

Cyrus stopped his work at the question. He was definitely a positive person, but he's been gone for a _year._ A small snake of doubt had formed in him over that time. "I hope so." He decided on.

"Hey guys," Mindy ran up, "The Underground van is pulling up!"

"They're back?"

"I wonder why they didn't call," Trevor looked up and Cyrus for the answer, but he just shook his head.

"Let's go see what happened."

And even with that small snake writhing inside him, he felt a surge of hope and excitement that his friend might have finally come home.

Sonic was practically vibrating as they pulled into Freedom Fighter HQ. He couldn't wait to see all his old friends. Hopefully they wouldn't be too upset with him after a year. Sally reached for his hand, squeezing it in an attempt to calm the hedgehog down. Sonic smiled at her and gripped back.

Sally could tell that the hedgehog was completely full of joy. His smile radiated happiness. It was kinda cute how excited he was. He was like a little kid again. Not that he didn't act like one normally.

There was a voice yelling at them from outside as they parked. Sonic popped up instantly when he heard it. He recognized that voice. Sonia waved at the voice's owner and looked back to the bouncing Sonic.

"How'd it go?" they heard from outside the door.

The door opened and the lion blinked at the person behind it in surprise.

"Sup?"

"Sonic!"

Said hedgehog bounded out of the van and was tackled in multiple hugs. He laughed as he fought off all his friends to look at each one of them. From what he could tell, nothing had changed. "Hey, guys. Am I late?"

He received a light punch on his shoulder from his brother as he and Sonia joined the group. "Look who we ran into." He told everyone with a large grin.

"What have you been doing all this time?" Trevor asked.

"So much."

A small giggle from the van caught the attention of the group, all of them looking up at it at the same time. Sally's cheeks tinted a light pink as she waved at them.

"Who are you?"

"Sally," Sonic answered for them as she walked up next to him.

"Nice to meet you," she held out her hand and Cyrus shook it.

"You're a friend of Sonic's then?"

"Well," she looked over to the hedgehog, who, upon noticing the look, started blushing. He knew that they were all going to flip when they found out. That's why Sally hadn't said anything. It seemed worth it to her considering the look on his face right now.

They were all confused by the reaction. Until Sonia figured it out anyway, "Wait! Are you-?"

Sally smiled at her and held his hand, silently confirming the unfinished question. It was about then that the rest of the party caught on.

"OH!"

"You're dating?"

"Dude why didn't you say anything?!"

"Because I knew you guys were going to flip out," Sonic told him, his blush becoming more and more pronounced. Sally laughed at his obvious discomfort. Sonic did not like that, "Sal, stoop."

"But it's so much fun," she teased him.

"Saaaaaaaaaalllllll."

The rest of the party laughed as he pouted. "Yeah, you two are a good match."

Sally blushed at the comment, but it couldn't compare to Sonic's bright red face. "Thank you."

"So you've been gone to be with your girlfriend for a while?" Trevor teased him further.

"No!" At least they weren't upset about his being gone so long. "Listen, we should probably go somewhere else so I can explain everything."

The sudden seriousness in his tone worried the two, but they complied. They hurried down to one of the empty planning rooms. There were multiple cries of surprised mobians all around them as they saw the blue hedgehog. He waved to multiple that he recognized before he had to continue on. By the time they made it to the private room, the entire HQ had at least heard the news. That Sonic the Hedgehog was back.

"What's up Sonic," Cyrus asked when the door closed, "What happened while you were gone?"

He sighed, the grip on Sally's hand slowly tightening and he prepared himself for this long, long explanations. He's had to do a lot of those lately.

"You guys are going to want to sit down."


	14. Home

**My cat is just walking disaster. He snuck out of the house for two hours while we were gone and brought in fleas. Which are very difficult to get rid of by the way. And now he's knocking over all the crap in my room... Thanks Link. -_-**

 **Ok so weird things happened and I had to reload this chapter. Sorry for the psyche out guys. I didn't mean to.**

 **Skiller338:** **I am obsessed with the theme of Forces. I wish they'd release the full thing. It's great. :3**

"You what?"

"You heard me."

"You didn't."

"I am telling the 100 percent truth."

"This throws everything off," Cyrus paced the room, much like Sonic just without the charred circle showing his path. "The prophecy-"

Sonic groaned. He had heard this so much. "I know. I know. But there's no way that he can still be around after this. Robotnik's gone."

"Then we must have been misinterpreting it somehow," Cyrus stated, "But it's not like Robotnik has any family."

"Yes he does."

Everyone looks to Sally, not sure if she was serious or not. But, to their amazement, Sonic nodded, "Snivley. He's his nephew. Not sure if he has the same last name though."

"He doesn't." Sally told him, "His last name is Kintobor."

"Then it's not about him?"

"Well they're still related by blood right?" Manic asked.

"But that might not be enough." Sonia pointed out. "Prophecies can be tricky."

"How about this," Sonic stood, attracting the attention back onto him, "Tomorrow we head out to the Oracle's cave and ask him ourselves. No better source for this than the person who made the prophecy in the first place."

"That's surprisingly a good idea Sonic."

"What do you mean 'Surprisingly'?"

He didn't get an answer. Just a small peck on the cheek and snickers from all around the room.

"Where are we going?" Sally asked as they continued driving around the city.

Sonic was smiling ear to ear, his eyes darting across and around the road constantly. "My old home."

Sally leaned against the chair, smiling down at the hedgehog, "Is that why you wanted to wait till tomorrow to leave?"

"Yep!" Every single part of him seemed to be glowing. It was actually really cute if she was telling the truth. "I haven't seen it in years! I wanted to see it."

"Perfectly normal," Sonia said as they turned the corner and stopped in an abandoned looking garage.

Sonic darted out as soon as the van had stopped, waiting impatiently at the door. "I'm waaaaaiiting."

"He's somehow even more impatient than normal," Sally commented as she stepped out of the vehicle. Sonia quickly agreed with a laugh.

Manic ran ahead of the two girls to start messing with Sonic before they entered. Of course he retaliated back at his brother and by the time the girls had made it to them they were wrestling against each other.

Sonia rolled her eyes as she opened the door. She didn't complain when a gust of wind messed up her hair.

"You guys haven't changed anything, huh?"

"There's not much around here to use to decorate. No matter how much Sonia wants." Manic told him, sending and accusing look at his sister.

"There are stores for this!" she exclaimed.

"And going to a big store is a bit dangerous for us. Remember the whole Doo Bot incident?"

"Why don't you just make something?" Sally suggested. We had to make a lot of the stuff we have down at Knothole. I could teach you if you want."

"Oh my gosh yes!" Sonia was jumping up and down hugging the squirrel. "How did Sonic even win you over?"

"Wha-?"

"I'm not too sure myself."

"Is it just pick on Sonic day or something?"

All answered, "Yes."

He groaned good humoredly, throwing himself onto the small couch. "You're all mean." Sally sat on the couch next to him, patting his head mockingly. He pushed her slightly but didn't say anything against her.

"So," Sonia sat down on a nearby chair, a glint in her eye that very much concerned Sonic, "You said that you knew Sonic when he was little right?" Sally nodded. "What was he like? I hope you have some good stories."

"No."

"Yes."

Sonic covered his brother's mouth at his comment and repeated, "No."

Sally laughed as them, "Oh he was pretty much the same. I do have some pretty funny stories."

"Sal no."

"Sal yes."

"You literally knocked down an entire tree at age 9?"

"Dude there are simpler ways to get into a tree house dude."

"I know that!" Sonic tried to defend himself.

"He was trying to look cool in front of Tails."

"It still worked."

"And to this day he still thinks you did it on purpose."

"What do you think would happen if we told him?"

"You're not going to!" Sonic pushed Manic off the couch with a huff.

The green hedgehog didn't bother getting back up, just laughed from down on the floor. Sonia laughed as well before unleashing a large yawn. "Alright its bed time for me." She stood up, "I don't think we have any extra beds for you though Sally."

"It's fine. This couch is plenty comfy for me."

"You sure?" She nodded, "Alright then. You gonna hit the hey too Manic?"

He stretch upward, his back and shoulders popping with the movement, "Yeah. After everything that's happened today I'm beat."

"I'll join you guys in a bit." Sonic told them as he watched their retreating backs. He saw a twitch from both of them, like they wanted to stay in case leaving his for even a moment would result in him disappearing again. But they kept moving, waving back at him with a smile.

As soon as they vanished Sonic felt himself deflate slightly and he leaned against his girlfriend.

"Sonic?"

He looked up at her with a small smile. Wasn't that same smile ten times bigger not long ago? "A lot has happened hasn't it?" she nodded, not sure where he was going, "It feels weird being back here," he looked around the small room, "I've thought of Knothole as home for these past few years, even now I do, but so is this place."

"You can have multiple homes, Sonic."

He nodded, "But you can't live at both of them at the same time." She blinked, "I had two separate lives that sudden got pulled together. I didn't even realize until now what problems that's going to cause."

"It'll be fine Sonic." She assured him, wrapping her arms loosely around him, "We've faced tougher."

"Yeah, I guess." Sonic sighed, his entire body moving with the action, "I guess I'm more worried about missing something bad in one place while I'm in the other."

"We're plenty tough ourselves ya know. And from what I can tell your siblings are just as tough. Besides, you're the fastest thing alive aren't you?"

He smiled a genuine smile, "Yeah. I'm way past. Thanks Sal."

"Your welcome. You're easy to cheer up anyhow. All I have to do is stroke your ego."

Sonic laughed pushing himself up off of Sally. "All true isn't it?" she rolled her eyes as Sonic gave her a hug before standing. "Night Sal."

"Night Sonic."


End file.
